Chapter 96: Holiday Herb Gathering

Because it was the holiday and the work in the fields was almost finished, the old master had declared that everyone would stay home and rest today.

Mrs. Zhao was cooking today, so Mrs. Wu led Wenjie and Wenqing to the wild grove. The mountain silkworms they were raising had been up in the trees for more than ten days, and after passing through a resting stage, they had clearly grown much larger. From this point on, one had to keep constant watch, for the birds that fed on insects were a grave danger to the silkworms.

The eldest son, Wensheng, did not go along, because Mrs. Li had assigned him a task.

The Gu family had several households in the village with whom they were on good terms. On a day like this, they had to visit one another and send over rice dumplings, eggs, and other gifts to maintain the ties of courtesy.

Since the last uproar at the Zhang family dinner, no one had gone to visit for a long while. Thinking of her own elder sister and nephew, Mrs. Li selected more than a dozen rice dumplings and some eggs, and sent Wensheng to deliver them. Wensheng was the oldest and the most honest, so if he went, there was no need to worry that he would secretly eat them along the way.

“Go to your grandaunt’s place, and remember to tell them that if they’re free tomorrow, they should come by. Tomorrow is your little aunt’s big day, and it’ll look better if more people are there,” Mrs. Li specially reminded him.

Then she took out another bundle of eggs and rice dumplings. “Wenxiu, take your brothers and deliver these to your Second Granduncle’s house. Tell them not to forget to come tomorrow.”

Mrs. Li and Second Uncle Gu’s family were indeed not on friendly terms. If it were an ordinary day, she would never have spared any dumplings for them. But this year was different: tomorrow Xiu-li would be getting engaged. The Gu family’s relatives ought to be present, so the occasion would look proper, as though the Gu clan were prosperous and well-connected. At a time like this, Second Uncle Gu absolutely had to show up, and because of that, Mrs. Li could not very well fail to send something over.

She sent Wenxiu because the family of Gu Chengyong got along reasonably well with Second Uncle Gu’s household, so they were easier to talk to. And of course, Wenxiu and his brothers had good character; they would not sneak and eat the gifts on the way. If it were Wenjing, that could not have been said with any certainty.

Wenxiu picked up the bundles and was just about to head out when Jiao Yan called after him. “Big brother, wait for me a moment. I’m going to Master Shao’s place. I’ll go with you.”

Today was the Dragon Boat Festival, and many medicinal herbs, such as mugwort and knotgrass, were said to be most effective when gathered on this day. Jiao Yan had already made an appointment with Shaoyuan to go collecting herbs, so she had just gone home to change her clothes.

Wenxiu did not say anything else. He nodded and led Jiao Yan outside. Behind them, Mrs. Li reminded them, “Come back early. Your eldest and second aunts are returning to their natal home today.”

Before Wenxiu and Jiao Yan had even made it out of the Gu family gate, Shaoyuan came in from outside with a basket slung over his arm. “Brother Wenxiu, Sister Yan, my mother sent me to bring some rice dumplings to Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu.”

Miao Suwen was a very courteous woman, and she was thoughtful in every respect. Now that the Miao mother and son had settled in the village, all the proper visits had to be made.

As it happened to be the Dragon Boat Festival, Miao Suwen had gone to the market early to buy glutinous rice, bamboo leaves, and all the fillings for the dumplings. Yesterday she and Ruyun and Ruyue had spent the entire afternoon wrapping them. This morning, after breakfast, she had sent Shaoyuan to deliver them house by house.

The old Gu family, Second Uncle Gu’s family, the Qi Changwen household—all of them had to receive some. Shaoyuan started from the nearest and worked outward, and the Gu family was the last stop.

Seeing this, Wenxiu naturally could not simply leave Shaoyuan behind and go on his way, so he turned around and led Shaoyuan into the house. “Grandpa, Grandma, Shaoyuan has come to deliver rice dumplings to our family.”

The old master and old mistress both paused slightly when they heard this. Ever since the Miao mother and son had moved out, the two elderly people had almost forgotten them. They had not expected that on a holiday, Miao Suwen would actually send the child over with gifts.

“Well now, how can this be? You mother and son have it hard enough as it is. It would have been enough to wrap some for yourselves. Why go to all this trouble and send them here?” Mrs. Li said, though as she spoke, her hand was already reaching out to take the dumplings.

“My mother made them in the southern style,” Shaoyuan said with a smile. “She said Grandpa and Grandma may not have had them before, so she asked me to bring a few over for you to try something fresh.”

“Your mother is always so polite. Very well, then your grandfather will take advantage of the favor and taste what southern rice dumplings are like,” said the old master, sitting on the kang bed with his tobacco pipe in hand and nodding with a smile.

Mrs. Li took the dumplings and went out. Not long after, she came back and said, “Child, these are dumplings your grandmother made. Our family doesn’t have any rare ingredients, so we only made them as a small gesture for the occasion. Be sure to tell your mother not to dislike them.”

In matters of social courtesy, what mattered was reciprocity. Since the Miao family had sent something over, the Gu family had to return a gift in kind. Though they were both rice dumplings, it was still a token of goodwill. Miao Suwen’s medical skill had already become famous in the village, and people like her, no matter what, were worth cultivating friendly ties with. Mrs. Li understood that clearly.

Shaoyuan accepted the basket without ceremony. “Then thank you, Grandma. There are still things waiting for me at home, so I won’t delay you here. When Grandpa and Grandma have time, please come sit with us.”

With that polite exchange, he bid the Gu family farewell.

“All right. And you mother and son should come by often too when you have the time. Wenxiu, since you’re going out anyway, see Shaoyuan off for me,” said the old master from the kang, waving his hand to send Wenxiu out with him.

After Shaoyuan left the Gu house, he walked along the road with Wenxiu and Jiao Yan. “My mother said to have you all come to our place to taste the dumplings she made. After all, you live with everyone else. If we had sent you a separate portion just now, I’m afraid it would have caused trouble again.”

Only when he saw that there was no one else nearby did Shaoyuan speak in a low voice.

“All right then. I was hoping to eat some southern-style dumplings. The ones made here don’t have any decent fillings and taste bland,” Wenping said with a pout.

“You must never say that at home,” Wenxiu warned him. “Even dumplings like that are fine things at the Gu household. We’re only used to better ones from past years, which is why they taste plain to us. Look at Wenfei and the others—how happily they’re eating. Just from that, you can tell that even these may not be something they get to eat very often.”

Jiao Yan, hearing her brother’s words, could not help nodding. His words were not false. In the north, rice dumplings were generally eaten just like this. After all, not every household could afford candied dates. Some families added red dates, but once boiled, red dates could turn sour and were actually not very good. In truth, dumplings made with beans tasted better—fragrant, soft, and satisfying.

The children were all quick on their feet, and before long they had reached the entrance to Second Uncle Gu’s house. Wenxiu led Wenping inside to deliver the dumplings, while Jiao Yan went together with Shaoyuan to the Miao household. They had to hurry if they wanted to gather herbs.

Once they reached the Miao house, Shaoyuan handed the Gu family’s dumplings to his mother to put away, and then he and Jiao Yan each took a small basket and a little hoe and set out.

Knotgrass and mugwort did not grow in the woods. They usually grew in wasteland or by the roadside, so Miao Suwen was not worried. She only reminded Shaoyuan to take good care of Jiao Yan.

The village had plenty of unused ground, so the two of them did not need to go far. They could find useful medicinal herbs almost anywhere. Jiao Yan was too small to wield the hoe, so Shaoyuan did most of the digging, while Jiao Yan shook the soil from the dug-up herbs and put them away.

Wherever there were children, there were always some tiresome ones. Spoiled by their families, they did no work and only spent their days teasing cats and dogs, creating endless chaos in the village. And because it was a holiday, those children were even more unruly than usual; a few of them gathered together and could turn the whole place upside down.

“Huh? Isn’t that the Miao family’s boy? Why’s he out here digging wild greens today? I’ve been looking for him and couldn’t find him. Never thought I’d run into him here. What a coincidence. Come on, let’s go take a look.”

Sure enough, six or seven little ruffians spotted Jiao Yan and Shaoyuan and immediately went over looking for trouble.

“Hey, you can’t dig wild greens here. This land belongs to my family. Without my permission, how can you be digging things out of it?” A boy of eleven or twelve strode up before Shaoyuan and Jiao Yan and said this loudly.

Jiao Yan looked up at the people across from her, especially the one who had just spoken. The child was dressed in silk, wore a silver neck ring, and had a longevity lock hanging from it. He was actually rather handsome—fair-skinned and neat—but when he spoke, he always lifted his face to the sky and looked at people from the corners of his eyes. No matter how one looked at him, he was an unpleasant sight.

It was hard to tell which little tyrant he belonged to. Jiao Yan had only recently returned to the village, and she usually moved back and forth only between the Gu and Miao households, so she did not recognize the boy in front of her.

“This land belongs to your family? Then what proof do you have?” It looked like nothing more than wasteland; how could it possibly have an owner? “Whose family are you from?”

The boy on the opposite side still wore the same haughty expression. “You’re asking whose family I’m from? Let me tell you, I’m the young master of the Jiang family here in Qingshan Village. You know the Jiang family, don’t you? My family owns several hundred mu of land in the village, and my second uncle is an official out in the world. You don’t even know who I am, and you still think you can stay in this village?”

A flicker passed through Jiao Yan’s eyes. She had heard of the Jiang family before. They were said to be the great landlords of Qingshan Village, and one of the few households there with blue-brick, large-tiled houses. Compared with the Jiang family, the Gu family still fell far short; no wonder this child carried himself like someone who looked down on everyone.

“No matter whose family you’re from, you still have to prove that this land is yours. If you can’t prove it and are only saying so with your mouth, why should we listen to you?” Jiao Yan was not afraid of them. These troublesome brats were clearly here to cause mischief.

In truth, when children went out to dig wild greens, they simply dug wherever they found them, never worrying about whether the land belonged to someone else. These were all wastelands; leaving them there served no purpose. If no one dug the greens, the ground would just sit idle.

In the past, it had usually been Wenxiu or Wenping who came out to gather greens. They were boys, and there were many of them, so no one dared to come make trouble. But today it was Jiao Yan and Shaoyuan together, and these little hooligans thought the two of them would be easy to bully, so they came over.